The next No Man’s Sky update is about to send gravitational waves through our procedurally-generated universe. Yesterday, Sean Murray and Hello Games released an exciting new trailer for No Man’s Sky: NEXT, showcasing some of the major changes that are about to touch down on PlayStation, PC and – in due course – Xbox One.

Here it is…

No Man’s Sky originally launched in August 2016, and since that time it has gained notoriety amongst players for alleged broken promises, missed opportunities, strange glitches and – unusually – crushing boredom. The game that guaranteed unlimited exploration in a universe of 18,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets appeared to be strangely lacking in substance, and at the time of its launch, the title was at the centre of a backlash from incensed adventurers who felt a tad ripped-off, and more than a little misled.

Now, whether or not any of this venom was justified is hard to say, but there’s no denying that the creative team at Hello Games has been earnest in its ongoing support of the game, rolling out free updates that have delivered an array of impressive new features such as base building, vehicle driving, and alternative game modes.

However, this latest No Man’s Sky update is exciting because – in many people’s eyes – it delivers everything the title promised way back in the build-up to its original launch. Sean Murray – the No Man’s Sky mastermind – has posted the full list of features over on the official website, but for those of you who are too busy mining heridium on Penhaxico II, here’s a lowdown of the salient points…

• Full multiplayer – Play together, survive together, fight together, race one another, see one another, and customise your characters. The update also comes with an option to play in either a first person or third person perspective.
• Improved graphics – There’s more detail and some dramatically improved planetary terrain generation.
• Unlimited base building – You can put bases anywhere – even underwater – and make them more complex in their layouts. You can also own more than one base… Perfect for galactic conquest.
• Command freighters – You can assemble a fleet of frigates and command them from the bridge of your freighter. In addition, you can send fleets out into the universe, customise your main ship, and take on multiplayer missions from the galactic commission station on your bridge.

All of which sounds very promising! And as with previous updates, NEXT will be available for free, launching on the PlayStation 4 and PC on July 24th. For players on the Xbox One, the upgrade will be available when the game launches on July 27th.

I must admit, although I will staunchly defend No Man’s Sky to anyone, I have rather neglected it of late; I was one of the deflated players who drifted away when the appeal of naming new species of plant wore a little thin. That being said, this new update really excites me, especially as someone with a keen taste for third person action-adventuring. I definitely plan to hit the download button when NEXT goes live in just under a week’s time.

What do you think of the latest No Man’s Sky update? Has it re-ignited your enthusiasm? Have you moved on? Are you intrigued to be playing for the first time on the Xbox One? Let your voice be heard in the comments below!

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